Vendor News and Updates!

Bell Techlogix Joins Microsoft Device Reseller Program

February 2018

Microsoft:

The changes to VLSC sign in went into effect on 1/25/2018. In addition to using your previous login, you now have other signin options. The Microsoft VLSC site will prompt you when you go to the website.

McAfee:

McAfee closed its acquisition of Skyhigh Networks on January 3, 2018. Skyhigh's leadership in cloud security, combined with the strength of their existing security portfolio, sets McAfee apart in helping secure your organization from devices to the cloud.
With the addition of Skyhigh, McAfee cloud security solutions now provide visibility, advanced threat prevention, and data protection controls across all clouds to secure network traffic, workloads, and data. The multi-cloud security management of Skyhigh Security Cloud, McAfee Cloud Workload Security, and McAfee Virtual Network Security Platform allows you to confidently move to the cloud and accelerate your business.
Visit the Skyhigh Networks website to learn more about how Skyhigh Security Cloud helps the world's largest organizations unleash the power of the cloud by providing real-time protection for enterprise data and users across all cloud services.

Hardware:

Aerohive has announced their new 802.11ax access points that are coming soon. 802.11ax, compared to previous generations, will be better balanced with nearly equivalent upload and download performance; 802.11ax will handle client density more efficiently through a new channel sharing capability; 802.11ax will improve battery life using wake-time scheduling that enables access points to tell clients when to go to sleep to preserve energy; and 802.11ax efficiency improvements will deliver at least 4x more throughput than 802.11ac. (Aerohive)

Bell Techlogix:

We have created a private LinkedIn page. The main contact at your organization will receive a notification to join this page in the coming weeks. If you would like to also join this page, email your Bell Techlogix contact to request access to this secure site.

January 2018

Microsoft:

Microsoft is updating the sign-in process for VLSC. Effective January 19, 2018, users will no longer sign in using a Microsoft account (e.g., john.smith@hotmail.com). VLSC users must sign in using a work or school account (e.g., john.smith@yourorgdomain.com) from January 19th.
Microsoft is introducing the use of work accounts across Microsoft services so that organizations can gain centralized user management benefits. Employees can use the same work account to access VLSC and other services to enjoy a single sign-in experience. Organizations can maintain control of work or school accounts and disable them when necessary. This change will align the VLSC sign-in experience to the current Store for Business (SfB) experience. Microsoft will provide detailed instructions for the new sign-in process ahead of the go-live date and we will share additional details as we receive them.

McAfee:

Technical Phone Support (24/7): 1-800-937-2237 and Technical Support Site: https://mysupport.mcafee.com
In the event that you have a security breach and there is a high impact on your environment, McAfee has a team that can help: Emergency Incident Response & Forensics 1-877-913-6863

Hardware:

Is it time to start thinking about summer refresh for your faculty, staff and students? Lenovo has many great Windows 10 options that are designed with education in mind including the N22, N24, N23, ThinkPad 11e and many other great options. Please reach out to your Bell rep for assistance.

Bell Techlogix:

Happy New Year! We are looking forward to moving into 2018 together. Feel free to reach out of us for any questions or quote requests.

December 2017

Microsoft:

Have you heard about Azure? Azure is a comprehensive set of cloud services that developers and IT professionals use to build, deploy, and manage applications through our global network of datacenters. Integrated tools, DevOps, and a marketplace support you in efficiently building anything from simple mobile apps to internet-scale solutions. Contact your Bell Techlogix representative to obtain information and pricing to add Azure to your MEEC Microsoft EES agreement.

McAfee:

Recently McAfee hosted another webinar. If you were unable to attend, the recording is posted on the MEEC website www.meec-edu.org under events journal. You may also reach out to your Bell Techlogix rep and we can send it to you or set up a call to discuss in more detail.

Hardware:

Lenovo has some great laptops and tablets that are designed specifically for education. If you are in the market for new Win10 devices for your faculty, staff and/or students, then you should consider these options
Lenovo N24 - 2 in 1, 4gb RAM, 64gb HD - List Price = $279
Lenovo N22 - Notebook, 4gb RAM, 64gb HD - List Price = $184

Bell Techlogix:

Warmest thoughts and Best Wishes for a Wonderful Holiday and a very Happy New Year!

November 2017

Microsoft:

Introducing the new Surface Book 2. Experience 4 times more power than with the original Surface Book1 and up to 17 hours of battery life2. Now available in two sizes: a new 15" and 13.5" PixelSenseTM Display. You may pre-order by contacting your Bell Techlogix rep on November 9th.

McAfee:

Did you miss the Secure Schools webinar in October? The webinar PowerPoint will be posted on the MEEC website www.meec-edu.org under events journal. You may also reach out to your Bell Techlogix rep and we can send it to you or set up a call to discuss in more detail.

Hardware:

Aerohive has announced the AP122X as the latest addition to their growing access point portfolio. This AP as an external antenna with 2x2 MIMO, dual-radio 802.11ac, and come IoT and location based services ready with built in BLE and USB technology. This AP will be available to ship in December.

Bell Techlogix:

October 2017

Microsoft:

SQL Server 2017 (Standard and Enterprise) is available for download as of October 2, 2017 from the Microsoft VLSC portal. Microsoft will continue to offer express and developer editions for free download.

McAfee:

Secure Schools webinar MEEC will be sending out an email this month regarding the MEEC McAfee online webinar scheduled for October 18th at 10am. We are excited about this webinar and hope that someone from your school will be able to attend. You may contact MEEC directly to register if you didn't receive the webinar email
(Meec-office@usmd.edu).

Hardware:

Aerohive has recently announced the end of sale for some of their older 100 and 300 series AP's. While they will continue to provide support for these AP's for a few years, it is recommended that you start looking at upgrading these devices. Aerohive has released a number of 802.11ac wave 2 AP's that are great for a school environment. These newer AP's provide better coverage and have the ability to support the newer devices that are on the market today. Aerohive is running a special promotion where you buy 12 AP122's or AP250's and you get 2 free. Please reach out to your Bell representative for additional information.

Bell Techlogix:

Feel free to contact your representative at any time regarding pricing, ordering or any additional product information.

September 2017

Microsoft:

All institutions should have received an EES renewal confirmation email from Microsoft for the 08/01/17 to 07/31/18 term. If not did not receive an email, please contact your Bell Techlogix representative and we can email it to you. SQL 2017 Severs and Cals are being released on October 1st. If you normally purchase licenses from the Select Plus agreement, you may want to wait a few weeks before purchasing SQL licenses. Also, Imagine Academy will no longer be sold on Select Plus starting October 1st. You may continue to add this title to your EES agreement.

McAfee:

Keep an eye out for an email from MEEC regarding the MEEC/ McAfee online webinar on October 18th. We are excited about this webinar and hope that someone from your school is able to attend.

Hardware:

Do you have a hardware request? Bell Techlogix can provide you with a quote. Just contact your Bell Techlogix representative with the specifics of your request.

Bell Techlogix:

Have you checked out our website? If not, please take a few minutes to view our site, belltechlogix.com

August 2017

Microsoft:

You should have received your Microsoft renewal confirmation email from Microsoft for the 08/01/17 to 07/31/18 term. If not, contact your Bell Techlogix representative and we can email you the order confirmation.

McAfee:

McAfee offers more than just endpoint protection. McAfee products and solutions span the following areas:

Hardware:

Do you need a laptop or workstation quote for your faculty, staff and students? We can provide you with a quote. Please contact your Bell Techlogix representative and we will be glad to assist you.

Bell Techlogix:

We had another successful renewal season. Thank you to all our MEEC customers for providing the true-ups and purchase orders so quickly. Remember that you may add to your Microsoft and McAfee agreement anytime throughout the year. Just contact your Bell Techlogix representative to obtain a quote.

July 2017

Microsoft:

Dynamics 365 continues to change. There are 17 new products added to this month�s EES Price list. If you are interested in this product, contact your Bell Techlogix rep and we can engage the Microsoft Dynamics SME�S to go over the new titles.

McAfee:

As you may have heard, there is a new Ransomware circulating, a Petya variant. This ransomware encrypts the master file table and modifies the MBR. It appears to ask the users to reboot. Once the system is rebooted, it displays a ransom message. You should not reboot if you suspect you are infected with this ransomware.
The support team is tracking/updating SR�s via KB89540 for reporting purposes. If you suspect you are a victim of Ransomware, please ensure call the Support number, (800)-937-2237, to open an SR and provide symptoms and number of machines impacted.

Hardware:

Microsoft has announced the sleek new Surface Pro 5 and the Surface laptop. Also, Lenovo has announced the world�s smallest workstation, the ThinkStation P320 Tiny. If you would like more information on either of these or other devices for your faculty, staff and students, please contact your representative.

Bell Techlogix:

The Microsoft renewal Purchase Orders are due to Bell Techlogix by July 14th. McAfee has individual renewal dates and we provided the McAfee Purchase Order due date in your renewal email. Contact your Bell Techlogix representative if you have questions regarding the True-Up process or titles offered.

June 2017

Microsoft:

Microsoft has announced the Surface Pro 5. We are also able to sell Surface Studio and Surface Hub as well. Contact your Bell Techlogix representative for a quote.
Reminder that Arvato Student Media will not be available after 6/30/17. Kivuto will become the solution for all Work at Home and Student Use downloads. If you need to order Work At Home media, send that email request to your Bell Techlogix representative as soon as possible.

McAfee:

We sent an email out earlier this month about how to protect yourself from the "WannaCry" ransomware attack that has affected many people around the world. If you need additional information about this latest threat, please reach out to your Bell representative.

Hardware:

Summer is around the corner so it is time to start the "summer IT projects". If you are working on wireless upgrades, server refreshes, or virtualization projects, please let us know and we would be happy to help in any way that we can.

Bell Techlogix:

The Microsoft True-Up is due back to Bell Techlogix on June 9th. The McAfee True-Up has individual renewal dates and we provided the McAfee True-Up due date in that email. Contact your Bell Techlogix representative if you have questions regarding the True-Up process or titles offered.

May 2017

Microsoft:

Did you know that Skype for Business Online has an Auto Attendant Feature? Auto Attendant will allow calls to be channeled to groups or individuals on Skype for Business Online / Video Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NDVBQlYn5UQ
Requirements: Cloud PBX License Users

Reminder that Arvato Student Media will not be available after 6/30/17. Kivuto will become the solution for all Work at Home and Student Use downloads. If you need to order Work At Home media, send that email request to your Bell Techlogix representative as soon as possible.

Intel Security/McAfee:

Global cyber-security firm Intel Security has been renamed McAfee and now operates as an independent company, completing a split from Intel that was flagged in September.

Hardware:

Need a hardware quote? Bell Techlogix was awarded some of the groups within the hardware contract for the MEEC contract #972016. This contract is for three years and there are two optional three year renewals (total of 9 years). Bell Techlogix was awarded the following manufactures: Lenovo Servers, VMware, IBM, Aerohive and peripherals for HPI and Lenovo. Contact your Bell Techlogix representative for pricing.

Bell Techlogix:

The Microsoft and McAfee True-Ups were emailed out last month to the primary contact listed in our database. Contact your Bell Techlogix representative if you have questions regarding the True-Up process or titles offered. The Microsoft True-Up is due back to Bell Techlogix by June 9th. The McAfee True-Up has individual renewal dates and we provided the McAfee True-Up due date in that email.

April 2017

Microsoft:

Did you know that Microsoft offers webcasts for highlighting new and upcoming updates available for Office 365 Education? Office 365 releases new updates monthly and they provide a live presentation with Q&A that will help you stay informed. Contact your Bell Techlogix representative if you would like registration information for these webcasts.

Intel Security/McAfee:

Government and Education are very high on the list of most breached industries and a new form of ransomware adds a malicious twist by combining your personal information with ransomware - doxware.
Not only does it encrypt your files, but also threatens to post them to the Internet if the ransom is not met.
Contact your Bell Techlogix representative if you would like to register for this webinar on April 13th at 11am titled Government & Education One of the Most Prominent Industries Targeted by Latest Cyber Threat

Hardware:

Need a hardware quote? Bell Techlogix was awarded some of the groups within the hardware contract for the MEEC contract #972016. This contract is for three years and there are two optional three year renewals (total of 9 years). Bell Techlogix was awarded the following manufactures: Lenovo Servers, VMware, IBM, Aerohive and peripherals for HPI and Lenovo. Contact your Bell Techlogix representative for pricing.

Bell Techlogix:

Thanks to all who attended the MEEC conference and stopped by our booth. It was great to see everyone again and meet new people. Please feel free to contact us if you would like more information about our services. Note that we will be sending out the Microsoft and McAfee True-Ups this month. These documents will be emailed to the primary contact listed in our database. Contact your Bell Techlogix representative if you would like to confirm who we have listed as the primary contact for your institution.

March 2017

Microsoft:

Microsoft just announced on January 28th they are discontinuing the sale of media kits effective March 1, 2017 for all volume licensing programs in North America. Customers who were buying Microsoft media under their Select Plus or EES agreements will need to use the digital downloads from Microsoft VLSC site.

Intel Security/McAfee:

Webinar on How to Defend Against Zero-Day Threats: Understanding Machine Feel free to share the registration link below and or attend yourself. Wednesday, March 1, 2017 at 11AM. Contact your Bell Techlogix representative and we will send you the webcast registration link.

Hardware:

We are excited to announce that Bell Techlogix has been awarded some of the groups within the hardware contract for MEEC again contract #972016. This contract is for three years and there are two optional three year renewals (total of 9 years).
Bell Techlogix was awarded the following manufactures: Lenovo Servers, VMware, IBM, Aerohive and peripherals for HPI and Lenovo. Contact your Bell Techlogix representative for pricing.

Bell Techlogix:

We are looking forward to the MEEC conference on Thursday, March 30th. Make sure you stop by our table as we would love to see you. Please contact MEEC if you have not registered for this event.

Microsoft just announced on January 28th they are discontinuing the sale of media kits effective March 1, 2017 for all volume licensing programs in North America. Customers who were buying Microsoft media under their Select Plus or EES agreements will need to use the digital downloads from Microsoft VLSC site.

Microsoft announced that Arvato Student Media will not be available after June 30, 2017. Kivuto will become the solution for all Work at Home and Student Use downloads. If you currently do not offer an online store through Kivuto, contact your Bell Techlogix representative to learn more about this offering.

Intel Security/McAfee:

Are you looking for antivirus software under the MEEC contact? Bell Techlogix holds the MEEC Intel Security/McAfee contract #88300JH until September 30, 2019. Contact your Bell Techlogix representative if you would like a quote or additional information.

Hardware:

We are excited to announce that Bell Techlogix has been awarded some of the groups within the hardware contract for MEEC again contract #972016. This contract is for three years and there are two optional three year renewals (total of 9 years).
Bell Techlogix was awarded the following manufactures: Lenovo Servers, VMware, IBM, Aerohive and peripherals for HPI and Lenovo. Contact your Bell Techlogix representative for pricing.

Bell Techlogix:

The main contact at each school would have received an email from your Bell Techlogix representative in January asking if we needed to update our database to reflect a new contact or if the contact we have on file will remain the same. This confirmation is important as we will be sending out Microsoft and Intel Security/McAfee renewal information later this spring. If an email has not been received by someone at your school, please reach out to us directly to provide an update.

The MEEC conference is Thursday, March 30th. Hope you see you there!

January 2017

Microsoft:

Microsoft announced that Arvato Student Media will not be available after 6/30/17.
Kivuto will become the solution for all Work at Home and Student Use downloads. If you currently do no offer an online store through Kivuto, contact your Bell Techlogix representative to learn more about this offering.

Starting January 1, 2017, the System Center Client Management Suite (CMS) license will be split into individual component licenses. The System Center CMS sold as a single license providing client management rights to Data Protection Manager, Operations Manager, Orchestrator and Service Manager will be transitioned into corresponding four individual component client management licenses.

Product Family

Comment

SYS CTR DATA PRTCN MGR CLT MGMT LIC

Replacing System Center Client Management Suite (CMS)

SYS CTR OPS MGR CLT MGMT LIC

Replacing System Center Client Management Suite (CMS)

SYS CTR ORCHESTRATOR SVR

Replacing System Center Client Management Suite (CMS)

SYS CTR SERVICE MGR CLT MGMT LIC

Replacing System Center Client Management Suite (CMS)

McAfee:

End of Life (EOL) for the following products:

McAfee SaaS Email Protection

McAfee SaaS Endpoint Protection

McAfee SaaS Web Protection

You may contact your Bell Techlogix representative if you currently have any of these titles and have specific questions.

Bell Techlogix:

We are excited to announce that Bell Techlogix has been awarded some of the groups within the hardware contract for MEEC again. Specific details on what is included will be provided by MEEC in a few weeks.

December 2016

Microsoft O365 Email:

Many MEEC customers received the Microsoft "You're about to lose access" notification. All renewals were done back in August. Microsoft is referencing old licenses in these notices. Please make sure you are using your active O365 subscriptions in the tenant instead of the older subscriptions.

You may take the following steps. Let your Bell Techlogix contact know if you are not able to get this resolved.
1. Login to their Office 365 Admin Center
2. Click on Billing
3. Click on Subscriptions
4. Then check to see if you have the licenses that you are going to lose access to in the Active area.
5. If you have the same licenses in the Active Area, then there is nothing to worry about.

You may also email the O365 team at o365edu@microsoft.com and they will work with you directly.

Microsoft Webinar:

Microsoft will be hosting a webinar on Thursday, 12/15 at 1pm discussing Azure. Email MEEC/Pat Collins for registration information pcollins@usmd.edu.

McAfee: If you were unable to attend the McAfee webinar on 11/9, please contact your Bell Techlogix representative for any questions you may have about the new agreement or if you would like a copy of the presentation.

Bell Techlogix:

Bell Techlogix offices will be closed on Monday, December 26th and January 2nd. We wish all of you a happy and healthy holiday season!

November 2016

Webinar:
McAfee and Bell Techlogix will be hosting a webinar on Wednesday, 11/9 at 10am.
Email MEEC/Pat Collins for registration information pcollins@usmd.edu

Bell Techlogix:
Just a reminder that Bell Techlogix offers more than just software.
Feel free to visit our website http://belltechlogix.com or contact your Bell Techlogix representative
for additional information.

Hardware

Service Desk

Mobility

Wireless Networking

Deskside Services

IT Management

Microsoft Services

October 2016

Bell Techlogix responded to the MEEC/Intel Security-McAfee bid. MEEC is expected to announce the awarded vendor in early October.

McAfee Email Security Solutions:

Effective January 11, 2016, McAfee SaaS Email Protection reached End of Sale; these products will reach End of Life on January 11, 2017. After this date, email will no longer be delivered to monthly-billed customer recipients.

McAfee partnered with Proofpoint to assist with the migration of accounts for partners and customers that would like to transition their email security services.
Please email Proofpoint at partners@proofpoint.com with questions.

McAfee SaaS Endpoint Protection Suites:

Effective January 11, 2016, McAfee SaaS Endpoint Protection suites reached End of Sale. End of Life and End of Support will be effective January 11, 2019.

Reminder that Microsoft has announced the release of Windows Server 2016 and System Center 2016. The licensing model for these titles has changed to per core. Contact your Bell Techlogix representative if you would like more information about this licensing change.

September 2016

Microsoft has announced that Windows Server 2016 will be generally available on October 1st. The licensing model for Windows Server is changing from per processor to per core. Schools who already have Windows Servers on their agreements can continue to order the processor based licenses. School adding Windows Server to their agreements for the first time will need to purchase the per-core model.

Have you heard about Minecraft: Education Edition? Available September 2016 with features, pricing and distribution optimized for education. Annual subscription through volume licensing (EES). Option for org-wide or non-org-wide purchasing with volume licensing: Purchase as needed for any number of faculty, staff and students at $5 (list price) per user. If you commit to organization-wide coverage at $13.20 (list price) per user for faculty and staff, all students are covered. Available cross platform to maximize the opportunity to win share: only Windows 10 and OS X El Capitan. Contact your Bell Techlogix representative for MEEC pricing or additional information.

August 2016

Now that the renewal season is behind us, let us know if we can help you with maximizing your Microsoft investment. We have an experienced engineering team that can provide assistance with implementation, migration and/or deployment of Microsoft technologies such as

Security and Identity Management

Cloud (Azure, Productivity, Apps, etc.)

Enterprise Mobility Solutions

Enterprise Strategy and Architectural Guidance

Datacenter Services

Workstations Management (imaging)

Office 365

System Center Configuration Manager

If you are looking for assistance or guidance, please reach out to your Bell Techlogix representation for more information and to set up a discovery call.

July 2016

The MEEC Microsoft renewals are being submitted the last week of July and MEEC members should see email order confirmations as Microsoft completes the processing. Any expiration notices that you may receive from Microsoft are automated messages. As long as Bell Techlogix has your PO for the renewal, you can ignore these email notices. With the amount of orders being submitted, Microsoft processing times are a bit longer than normal. Please notify your Bell Techlogix rep if you don’t see the order confirmation by end of the first week in August.

June 2016

Please turn in your completed Microsoft true-up if you haven’t already done so. We will need to you issue your Microsoft renewal Purchase Order by July 11th.

McAfee quotes are also being created for anyone enrolled in that contract. You may contact your Bell Techlogix representative with any questions.

May 2016

Microsoft true-ups have been emailed out to the main contact at each school. Please return your completed true-up by June 1st. Feel free to contact your Bell Techlogix representative regarding any questions you may have about the renewal this year.

Microsoft/MEEC Webinar to discuss Azure and adding EMS to your MEEC renewal is scheduled for May 31, 2016 @ 10am

April 2016

The primary contact at your school for the MEEC/Microsoft Agreement with Bell Techlogix will receive the true-ups by May 2nd. Please let your Bell Techlogix representative know if the main contact has changed so they can reach out directly to the new contact with the renewal information.

If your school participates in the MEEC/McAfee agreement, those renewal true-ups will also be emailed out soon. That agreement has been extended to September 2016.

Wanted to highlight THREE just launched tools that will be integrated in the near future:

March 2016

True-Up documents will be coming out next month. Please make sure Bell Techlogix has the correct main contact for your school so you don't miss out on the email notification.

Keep in mind that Bell Techlogix can assist you with implementing and/or deploying various Microsoft products such as SCCM, O365 and EMS. Contact your inside representative or Sarah Taggart (staggart@belltechlogix.com) for more information.

If your school is using Office 365, you may want to consider Advanced Threat Protection (ATP). You already have access to deploy Exchange Online Protection (EOP) for $0 which will protect your mail against known spam, viruses and malware. ATP will take this protection a step further to cover the zero day attacks and unknown threats. Since this is Office 365 based, you will need to purchase a license these for each user, not FTE. Contact your Bell Techlogix representative to obtain a price quote.

February 2016

Imagine Academy is replacing the IT Academy title. IT Academy renamed to Imagine Academy effective January 1st 2016. As an organization, Microsoft is aligning their learning programs under a single identity, Microsoft Imagine, to demonstrate their commitment to technology and computer science education. Microsoft IT Academy is being renamed to Microsoft Imagine Academy to more easily identify where students get access to software, curriculum, encouragement and challenge. There is no change the mix of products, offerings, existing skus or benefits of the newly renamed Imagine Academy program.

OneDrive for Business update: MEEC customers will be very excited about the new sync client (see the blog post below).

OneNote in Education: Microsoft launched Learning Tools for OneNote, which helps everyone improve their reading and writing skills -- including students with learning differences such as Dyslexia or Dysgraphia, English Language Learners (ELL) and ESL, or a combination of any number of unique student differences. Learning Tools for OneNote does not require a specific Office 365 plan; it is a free public preview. To enable the dictation feature, you need to have either an Office 365 ID or MSA ID. It works as an add-in for OneNote 2013 and OneNote 2016 for Windows desktop.

January 2016

Windows and System Center Server is transitioning to the per Core model licensing used for SQL Server (with minor exceptions). Note that this won’t release until the second half of 2016. Below is the basic overview that has been released by Microsoft. Pricing will not be available until 30 days prior to the release. Contact your Bell Techlogix representative for FAQ documents and Datasheets for these titles. These changes to the Windows Server will not impact those institutions that participate in the Core Server Site License. During the MEEC renewal this summer, institutions are encouraged to look at the Core Server Site License to fully license all Windows Servers and the Enterprise Server Site License for System Center prior to these changes.

The Windows Server 2016 licensing model for Standard and Datacenter will be Cores + CAL. The current model is processers + CAL

License all the physical cores in the server. Core licenses will be sold in packs of two.

A minimum of 8 core licenses is required for each physical processor in the server and a minimum of 16 cores is required to be licensed for servers with one processor. This means 8 two-core packs will be the minimum required to license each physical server.

The price of 16-core licenses of Windows Server 2016 Datacenter and Standard Edition will be same price as the 2 proc license of the corresponding editions of the Windows Server 2012 R2 version.

The two-core pack for each edition is 1/8th the price of a two proc license for corresponding 2012 R2 editions.

Customers with processor licenses with Software Assurance (SA) can upgrade to Windows Server 2016 at no additional cost. At end of the SA term, processor licenses will be exchanged for core licenses and customers can renew their SA on core licenses.

There is also a hybrid Azure/Server benefit that will allow deployment of Windows Server licenses with Software Assurance on Azure coming in Q1 of 2016. More details to be announced later.

The server management licensing of System Center 2016 will move to be based on physical cores. The current model is physical processers. The core based licensing will align with Windows Server 2016 model to provide a consistent licensing metric for managed VMs.

License all the physical cores in the server being managed. Core licenses will be sold in packs of two.

A minimum of 8 core licenses is required for each physical processor in the server and a minimum of 16 core licenses required for each server. This means 8 two-core packs will be the minimum required to license each physical server under management.

The price of 16 core licenses of System Center 2016 will be same price as the 2 proc license for the corresponding editions of System Center 2012 R2.

The two-core pack for each edition is 1/8th the price of 16 cores for the 2016 editions.

Customers with processor licenses with Software Assurance (SA) can upgrade to System Center 2016 at no additional cost. At end of the SA term, processor licenses will be exchanged for core licenses and customers can renew their SA on core licenses.

All System Center 2016 server management licenses with active Software Assurance qualify for License Mobility through the Software Assurance benefits. Server MLs can be assigned to manage OSEs running in public cloud infrastructure. SA on a Standard Edition license permits management of 2 OSEs and SA on a Datacenter Edition licenses permits management of 10 OSEs in the cloud. Licenses for 16 physical cores will be required for the license mobility SA benefit.

Visual Studio Pro 2013 was part of the previous MEEC Campus Agreement Program. Therefore, the downloads were only good to use through the end of July 2015. This title is not part of MEEC Plan A or Plan B in the new contract.

Visual Studio is also part of the DreamSpark Program which is one way to get the download if you are signed up and renew the free subscription through EES on the VLSC site. It is for teaching purposes for faculty and students. https://www.dreamspark.com

Individual Developers can buy MSDN Subscriptions to Use Visual Studio Pro for development purposes. It is licensed per user to allow them to install on as many machines as needed in their development projects. Contact your Bell Techlogix representative to request a quote. This link has a comparison for each subscription type
https://www.visualstudio.com/products/msdn-subscriptions-vs

New titles are available on Microsoft VLSC. Office for both Windows and Macintosh, Project and Visio along with a few other titles are now available for you to download.

November 2015 - With SQL Server 2005 EOS date quickly approaching on April 12, 2016, security updates and hotfixes are no longer available from Microsoft. There’s never been a better time to upgrade and achieve Mission Critical Performance, Maintain Security and Compliance and Optimize the data platform infrastructure SQL with Server 2014. Please contact your Bell Techlogix representative to obtain a SQL 2014 price quote.

November 2015

Did you know that Microsoft has announced several new and exciting products specific to the Surface family including the Surface Pro 4 and the ultimate new laptop… the Microsoft Surface Book! Contact your Bell Techlogix representative for all available models or to obtain a price quote.